Sacred Trees of Alberta, Part 1

Over a year ago, when I took a few days off in the Crowsnest Pass to mull about my career, life, and everything, I posted a photo of the Burmis Tree (49°33'21.51"N, 114°17'56.92"W), the iconic (but dead) limber pine at the east entrance to the Pass on Hwy. 3, calling it one of the “sacred trees of Alberta”.  This raised the question of what other trees are out there. Unlike my list of glacial erratics, trees are ultimately transitory things; they suffer damage and die. So in a couple of cases, these “heritage trees” are no more.  In 2008 the Heritage Tree Foundation of Canada published a list of 73 heritage tree locations within Calgary, mainly in the inner city.  This list includes groups of trees, e.g. the Memorial Drive poplars, and I hope to publish a select few as Part 3.  Exploring these might make a good summer project, but a list can be found on the last page at http://ow.ly/iu7J30afNVW 

I recently found my copy of Alberta Trees of Renown: An Honour Roll of Alberta Trees (Alberta Forestry Association, 1986), and here’s the first part of a list of some of the oldest or locally iconic trees in Alberta. Oldest first:

1.     Whirlpool Point Limber Pine (approx. 52°00'04" N, 116°28'15").  Located on the North Saskatchewan River off Hwy. 11 just west of Abraham Lake, the 1986 estimate had the age of this ancient tree as 1000 years. More recent estimates have it closer to 3000.  http://gigapan.com/gigapans/186145

2.     The oldest known Engelmann Spruce in Alberta, located near the Columbia Icefields, is estimated to have begun life in 1265, making it over 750 years old. Cold conditions, isolation from other forest stands, frequent rainshowers, and low incidence of lightning, have led to its longevity.

3.     The oldest Douglas Fir in Alberta, nearly 700 years old, is located atop the Hoodoos northeast of the TransCanada Highway just inside Banff National Park. It is one of a number of similar trees over 500 years old. http://ow.ly/zP9V30a3hgl

4.     The oldest Lodgepole Pine (if it’s still standing) began life near the Upper Kananaskis Lake after a fire in 1586, making it over 400 years old. The area has since been taken over by spruce, and Forestry reported in 1986 that this tree was barely hanging in. Even then, they described it as “a dead-looking snag”.

5.     The oldest Black Spruce, nearly 400 years old, is located in the Cache Percotte forest just south of Hinton. It’s located on a cool, wet, north-facing slope, with a high water table. Higher surrounding trees have also prevented its growth.

6.     Dunvegan Maple. Located behind the Catholic church in historic Dunvegan on the Peace River (approx. 55°55'24.37"N, 118°35'54.03"W) this tree (like other maples on this list) was brought to Alberta, here planted by James McDougall in 1883. The original trunk has long-since lain down on the ground, and newer trees are growing from it. http://gigapan.com/gigapans/88468

7.     Garneau’s Tree, a Manitoba maple planted in Edmonton in 1874 by Laurent and Eleanor Garneau, early settlers who had been part of the Riel Rebellion. Acknowledged with a plaque on the U. of A. Campus.  53°31'34.10"N, 113°31'4.65"W.

April Events:

Note these events are listed for information purposes only. Dates and locations may be subject to change; see the source for details. If I’ve missed anyone and you’d like to add to this listing, please contact me. All times MDT.

Apr 1:  All Fools’ Day.

Apr 1, 7:00 pm:  Paranormal Investigation at Haunted Hotel, Bassano, hosted by Ghost Hunt Alberta. Tickets through Eventbrite.  https://www.facebook.com/ghosthuntalberta/

Apr 1, 7:30 pm:  COGCOA Coffee Cauldron. http://www.cogcoa.ab.ca

Apr 8, 10:00 am:  Calgary New Age Craft Market at Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Hall.

Apr 9, 5:14 pm:  Mercury Retrograde (to May 3).

Apr 9, 7:00 pm:  Paranormal Pub Night at Cat ‘n Fiddle Pub, hosted by Ghost Hunt Alberta. Tickets through Eventbrite.

Apr 11, 12:08 am:  Full (Pink or Wind) Moon.

Apr 15:  Saille/Willow Tree Month begins, according to Robert Graves. (Four days after FULL Moon, showing the problem with this “lunar” system.)

Apr 16:  Easter Sunday.

Apr 16, 2:00 pm:  Dances with Witches. Info: Calgary Pagan Network on Facebook.

Apr 22:  Earth Day.

Apr 22, 8:00 am:  Alberta Wilderness Association “Climb for Wilderness” at the Bow Building. http://www.climbforwilderness.ca

Apr 22:  Green Calgary Composter and Rain Barrel Sales begin (to June 24).  http://www.greencalgary.org

Apr 23, 6:00 pm:  Ghost Hunting 101 at The Bank and Baron Pub, hosted by Calgary and Banff Ghost Tours.  Tickets through Ticketor.

Apr 26, 6:16 am:  New Moon. Saille/Willow Lunar Month begins.

Apr 27-30:  Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. http://calgaryexpo.com

Apr 29, 12:00 pm:  The Original Red Deer Witches Market, at Witches Ink. http://www.witchesink.ca/

Apr 29, 7:00 pm:  Heathen Meet and Greet. Info: Calgary Heathens on Facebook.

May 1:  Beltane.

May 1, 11:00 am: First Annual Lethbridge Pagan Cultural Festival, at Galt Gardens (Stafford Drive Exit on Hwy 3).  https://www.facebook.com/LethPaganCulturalFest/

March, 2017

March Events:

Note these events are listed for information purposes only. *Dates and locations may be subject to change; see the source for details. If I’ve missed anyone and you’d like to add to this listing, please contact me. All times Mountain.

Mar 4, 7:30 pm:  COGCOA Coffee Cauldron. http://www.cogcoa.ab.ca

Mar 8:  International Women’s Day:  “Be Bold for Change”.

Mar 11, 10:00 am:  Calgary New Age Craft Market at Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Hall.

Mar 11, 7:30 pm sharp.  COGCOA Ostara Ritual.*

Mar 12. 2:00 am:  Daylight Savings Time begins. Spring ahead!

Mar 12, 8:54 am:  Full (Worm or Storm) Moon.

Mar 12, 7:00 pm:  Paranormal Pub Night at the Bank and Baron, sponsored by Ghost Hunt Alberta. Tickets through Eventbrite.  https://www.facebook.com/ghosthuntalberta/

Mar 15:  Gaia Gathering – Canadian National Pagan Conference Early Bird sales end. http://ow.ly/5L3V308Owiy

Mar 17:  St. Patrick’s Day.

Mar 18:  Fearn/Alder Tree Month begins, according to Robert Graves.

Mar 18, 7:00 pm:  East Coulee School Museum Paranormal Investigation, sponsored by Ghost Hunt Alberta.

Mar 19:  Dances with Witches. Info: Calgary Pagan Network on Facebook.

Mar 20, 4:29 am:  Vernal Equinox.

Mar 23-26:  Rock-A-Palooza Gem & Mineral Show at Spruce Meadows, sponsored by Silver Cove.

Mar 24, 7:00 pm:  Paranormal Pub Night at the James Joyce, sponsored by Ghost Hunt Alberta. Tickets through Eventbrite.

Mar 25, 8:30 pm:  Earth Hour 2017.  https://www.earthhour.org/

Mar 26, 7:00 pm:  Heathen Meet and Greet. Info: Calgary Heathens on Facebook.

Mar 26, 7:00 pm: Paranormal Pub Night at Dickens Pub, sponsored by Ghost Hunt Alberta. Tickets through Eventbrite.

Mar 27, 8:57 pm:  New Moon. Fearn/Alder Lunar Month begins.

Mar 31:  International Transgender Day of Visibility.

Lunar Calendars

With Chinese New Year upon us, this may be a good time for a word on lunar calendars.  Many pagans, timing rituals as they do by the Full and New Moons, are apt to mark time using a lunar calendar.  The specifics of the calendar can take several different forms.  The Chinese lunar calendar, for example, begins with the New Moon closest to their equivalent of Imbolc, which means it can occur in either January or February.

English author Robert Graves virtually invented the so-called Celtic tree-calendar in his landmark 1948 book, The White Goddess.  Beginning with the winter solstice, Graves divided the year into thirteen months of 28 days each, plus one intercalary day (two on leap years). While this calendar has the benefit of fixed dates, I personally don’t see it as “lunar”, as it’s independent of the lunar phases.  Still, this system has been popularized by Llewellyn Books through their calendars, so many solitary pagans use it to mark time.

An interesting variation on this is the calendar presented by Canadian hedgewitch  Jean Kozocari.  In her 1994 Book of Days, Kozocari and others proposed a fixed 13-month calendar beginning at Samhain, the pagan New Year.  Graves’ tree-months (Birch, Rowan, Ash, etc.) were still kept, but shifted to the revised New Year, with Birch beginning in November.   This still doesn’t work for me, though it may for some.

My personal preference, which I’ve been using in my Almanack since I began using it in the mid-nineties, is a lunar calendar beginning with the New Moon closest to the Winter Solstice.  Over the course of the year this works out to be about 12-1/2 lunar months, so the last (Ruis/Elder) lunar month of one year is often the same as the first (Beth/Birch) of the new.  A number of published calendars use this system. 

Beginning this month, I’ll list both the Graves’ tree month dates and the Winter Solstice “lunar month” dates, both as an exercise and for those of you who prefer the system of Graves and Llewellyn.

February Events:

Note these events are listed for information purposes only. Dates and locations may be subject to change; see the source for details. If I’ve missed anyone and you’d like to add to this listing, please contact me. All times MST.

Feb 1-2:  Traditional Imbolc.

Feb 2, 7:00 am:  Groundhog Day Pancake Breakfast at Blue Grass Nursery and Garden Centre, south of Crossiron Mills. Balzac Billy prognosticates at 8:10 am.

Feb 4, 7:30 pm:  COGCOA Coffee Cauldron. http://www.cogcoa.ab.ca

Feb 7:  Birthday of Margarian Bridger (1957-2016), founder of Evergreen Tradition.

Feb 10, 5:23 pm:  Full (Snow or Quickening) Moon. Penumbral lunar eclipse.

Feb 11, 10:00 am:  Calgary New Age Craft Market at Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Hall.

Feb 14: Valentine’s Day.

Feb 18:  Luis/Rowan tree month begins, according to Robert Graves.

Feb 19:  Dances with Witches. Info: Calgary Pagan Network on Facebook.

Feb 20:  Family Day (Alberta).

Feb 25, 7:00 pm: Heathen Meet and Greet. Info: Calgary Heathens on Facebook.

Feb 26, 7:58 am:  New Moon. Nion/Ash lunar month begins.

January 2017

So, this is it.  2016 was an annus horribilus all around, and I think many of us are glad to see it over.  It was a year marked by terrorism, recession, the rise of the radical right, and of course the death of so many pop-culture icons.  David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, George Michael, Carrie Fisher, [insert your fave here].  None of us are getting any younger, so I know we’ll lose more legends in 2017.  As many of you know, this hasn’t been a good year for me either. Already out of work for over a year, I lost my wife, had a setback in my health, retired from my responsibilities in the pagan community, and lost several close friends.

For me, I see 2017 as the beginning of my personal turnaround, as I begin to put my grief behind me and take the first staggering steps forward again.  Our neighbours to the south begin a difficult four years under the [cough] Trump administration, but there is still hope for the liberal/progressive/democratic left.  A rumoured  “Freedom Concert”  against the Inaugural, strong voices like Michael Moore and Robert Reich, and media satirists like Stephen Colbert and the Daily Show, will continue to get the opposing message out in the face of Big Brother.  We will survive this.  Happy 2017, everybody!

January Events: 

Note these events are listed for information purposes only. Dates and locations may be subject to change; see the source for details. If I’ve missed anyone and you’d like to add to this listing, please contact me. All times MST.

Jan 1:  New Year’s Day.

Jan 7, 7:30 pm:  COGCOA Coffee Cauldron. http://www.cogcoa.ab.ca

Jan 8, 2:43 am:  Mercury Retrograde ends.

Jan 12, 4:34 am:  Full (Wolf or Cold) Moon.

Jan 14, 10:00 am:  Calgary New Age Craft Market at Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Hall.
Jan 15:  Dances With Witches. Info: Calgary Pagan Network on Facebook.

Jan 20:  Sauron’s not-so-smart, but just as evil brother Mauron moves into Barrad-dur.

Jan 27, 5:07 pm:  New Moon. Luis/Rowan lunar month begins.

Jan 28, 7:00 pm: Heathen Meet and Greet. Info: Calgary Heathens on Facebook.

Jan 28, 7:30 pm sharp:  COGCOA Imbolc Ritual.